Star Trek: The Gem of Odoculus
by Shanghai1875
Summary: Kirk, and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise venture to a new, unexplored world to search for the creatures who are hunted for their mystical abilities that defy all logic. Non-Slash, One OC, and Long Chapter format max 6000 words Please Comment.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The story of Star Trek, and the subsequent television shows and movies are the intellectual property of Gene Roddenberry. Most of the character herein are the property of the aforementioned. All Original Characters are the property of Chantalle Draycott.

Created 2009.


	2. Chapter 2

If space was indeed the final frontier, you weren't missing very much.

That is, if _you _were Captain James T. Kirk, who slouched ever so slightly in his newly acquired Captain's chair; his elbow resting on his armrest, the palm of his hand pressed up under his jaw. It had been three weeks since they had reassembled on Earth and had left on the U.S.S. _Enterprise _once again, to _boldly_ go where no man has gone before.

At this point he was beginning to realize it was hard to do anything _boldly_ when nothing was going to be waiting for you once you got there.

True, there was something exciting about being the captain of the crown jewel of Starfleet. But when you'd spent your first couple days as captain in the thralls of an adventure beyond anything you've ever experienced, the rest of the job seemed to move at somewhat of a snail's pace - hence Kirk's less than enthusiastic posture. The hand that wasn't busy holding up his bored head was tapping its fingers impatiently just beyond the touch pad implanted on the opposite armrest. The dull arpeggio of his fingertapping was the only sound which rang through the silent bridge, causing a few of his crew members look over at him unenthusiastically.

"Captain, perhaps you would like a puzzle, or maybe even something shiny to relieve you from your boredom?" came that deadpan voice that Jim had become increasingly irritated with the last few weeks. Regardless of their somewhat newfound respect for one another, Spock was continuously disgusted with his captain's work ethic.

"Maybe a shiny puzzle..." While Kirk did sit up to address his First Officer properly, he had that glazed look in his eyes that required raising his eyebrows to fully allow his eyelids to open. "That might actually do the trick."

Spock stood from his console and slid his hands behind his back. He took a step toward the captain's chair, his expression one of clinical disapproval. "Perhaps taking your responsibilities as captain of this vessel seriously would drive you to be more productive. You may find that, if you took the time to study your itinerary, you may not be so restless, and perhaps more of a captain."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kirk thought he saw a crew member smirk at that. "Now what exactly would you 'suggest' I do when we're literally floating through sp-"

"Might I remind you, Captain, that space exploration is one of the major functions and responsibilities of the _Enterprise_. As the Captain of this vessel you are required to..."

Thankfully, just as the First Officer was launching into yet another lecture, Chekhov spun around in his chair to address the two of them. "Captain, we are receiving a transmission from Starfleet headquarters," the young Russian proclaimed. "Admiral Cartwright presiding."

Spock gave an annoyed sigh and made his way back to his console. Taking his eyes off Spock to rise out of his seat, Kirk turned to the view screen and nodded to the other young man. "Absolutely, Chekhov. Begin transmission."

the Admiral's image expanded with a small, short burst of static as the communications from Earth kicked in. "_Enterprise_, this is Starfleet Headquarters. We have received a distress call from just beyond Delta Vega sector. You are the closest starship that can make adequate response time."

Admiral Cartwright's voice boomed over the display screen. His reign over Starfleet Command was often from a high vantage point, which was good, since his iron-fistedness could only reach so far. It was an aspect about him that Kirk was quite thankful for -- though at the moment, he'd never been so happy to see the Admiral, or to hear that a planet was in distress. Kirk saluted and nodded to the screen. "The _Enterprise _is, naturally, at your service, Sir. How can we help?"

"At this moment, I am sending you a copy of a very faint distress call from the planet Odoculus, just outside of the Delta Vega system. Odoculus has ostensibly been a part of the Federation since its conception -- however, contact with the planet has always been minimal, especially over the last hundred years or so. It's a relatively unexplored area, and the map is outdated, but it will have to do." With a flash, the image of the Admiral disappeared and was replaced with that of a map citing very specific coordinates near the system, and yet had no actual image of the planet. The grid map circulated on the communications screen and outlined a moving path which moved directly into a location of empty space.

"Admiral, there doesn't actually appear to be a planet of any sort there," Kirk said. Within the map, the Delta Vega sector could be seen in its entirety. Holographic illustrations of the system and the area of space previously occupied by Vulcan appeared, and yet, the coordinates which the Admiral was leading them to appeared to be open space.

"The Captain appears to be correct, Admiral," Sulu said, already programming the coordinates into the _Enterprise_'s computer as the map came up. "Our own maps indicate that indeed there is nothing located at the coordinates that you've provided."

The Admiral's face returned to the communication screen. "Yes, I'm aware." He paused and looked off for a moment. "The leaders of Odoculus had requested that Starfleet not publicize the location of their planet on our star maps. However, the treaty that likely explains why has vanished from our archives. We need the _Enterprise _to treat this mission with the utmost of delicacy."

"Distress transmission received, Captain." Uhura's voice came from behind him, but at this point Kirk's eyes were trained on the Admiral, furrowing slightly as he listened.

"Admiral, am I to be under the impression that this is a _secret _mission?"

Spock almost wanted to chuckle at the histrionic way that Kirk spoke, but when Cartwright responded with an affirmative, he turned in his chair and stood up to address the Admiral as well. "If we are indeed on a mission of utmost secrecy, then are you suggesting that we will also have to limit our transmissions and communications with the rest of Starfleet?" he asked, his own sharp eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Limiting your communication with other ships will be required for this mission, Mr. Spock, as it is with all classified missions," Cartwright explained.

That only deepened the confusion in Spock's expression. "Admiral, how would we be able to request for fleet reinforcements, should the distressed planet require them?"

Kirk glanced over at Spock from where he stood beside him. It was true that a lack of communication with other fleet ships may put stress on the Enterprise alone to complete the mission - but, the response from the Admiral had not exactly been what he was expecting.

"You are required to report your findings to Starfleet as soon as possible. From there we will assess the situation to consider whether further reinforcements are required."

For a moment both men were taken aback by this, and Kirk started a shaky response. "But Sir, if this is an emergency situation..."

Forcefully, the Admiral repeated himself, cutting the captain's concern short. "You are to report back, and the decision will be made at that point. The Odoculans' security is of the utmost importance. It's a request that the Federation has honored for over a century. Now that duty falls on you to uphold." He saluted the crew. "Good luck, Enterprise. I'll be looking to receive your report in a maximum of 168 hours time."

When the transmission had ended, Kirk turned to Spock, who was still looking out to the communication screen, once again black and dotted with stars. "Fantastic. Sulu...plot a course to the coordinates provided by Admiral Cartwright." The lieutenant pilot nodded the affirmative and immediately turned to his panel. Kirk turned to Spock. "Spock, can you assemble a crew for terrestrial exploration with an objective to locate and communicate with the inhabitants of the Odoculan planet?"

Finally pulling his eyes away from the screen Spock nodded and went to the lift; from there he would make his way down to Level 6 and form his ground exploration team. Kirk watched Uhura's eyes seemed to followed him at he moved across the bridge. He had to grin to himself. "Oh, Uhura?" he said, in something of a sing-song voice.

Although she often hated his arrogant tone, there was little she could do from allowing a grin to crawl to her lips, too. "I have received the transmission in full, but all of it seems to be distorted. They're also citing Stardate 2254.46 as the date..." She paused and shook her head in disbelief. "Unless this transmission is nearly five years old, it's incorrect. It also appears to be provided completely in English."

"All right, well...what's it _say_?" Kirk asked, sliding back into his seat and nodding to Sulu to shift the Enterprise to Warp 4. "If you can hear any of it, that is."

Uhura's eyes narrowed as she strained to listen to the broken transmission. "It sounds as though they've had some sort of solar issue, and that evacuation plans have been failures at best." After another few moments of listening she shook her head again. "I can't gather much more, Captain. I'll keep trying."

"Captain, ETA to the coordinates is twenty-three minutes," Sulu reported as the ship seemingly disappeared into warp.

"Very good Mr. Sulu. Chekhov, please notify all crew members of our departure to the planet, and instruct them that unless otherwise notified to continue on with their tasks." Taking a deep breath Kirk settled back in his chair and watch warpspace wrap around them, smiling pleasantly to himself.

Now _this_ was a little more boldly.

* * * * *

"Coming out of warpspace, Captain," Sulu announced as he began to slow the Enterprise's thrusters and pull it out of warp speed. "Arrival at Odoculus in five...four...three...two... one..."

The scene that had befallen them made several crew members shift in their seats to gaze at it. A planet, nearly an entire Earth mass, which would have resembled it greatly - if the terrain had not been such a repugnant shade of gray beneath its clouds. The oceans were such a deep shade of slate that they might strive to match it. It stood out in space like a giant steel marble.

"Planetary aspects?" Kirk asked simply, keeping his gaze locked on what appeared to be a dying planet.

A woman in a red uniform looked up from her console. "Captain, atmosphere shows an increasing amount of carbon dioxide. Flora on the planet's surface is minimal, and fauna doesn't appear to exist. There are lifeforms on the planet -- but most of them seem to be coming from other ships surrounding the area." Her fingertips worked on her keys as she scanned the surface of the almost Martian planet. "However, the oxygen levels in the atmosphere are enough to support life."

"Chekhov, can you bring up visuals of the surrounding ships?" Kirk asked, nodding his approval to the officer, and tracing his eyes over her as he did.

"Captain, we are currently being hailed by a Xindi-Insectoid starship!" the young man seated at the communications helm exclaimed, tapping a few commands into the panel.

Kirk nodded once again. "Patch them through."

Within a few seconds the image of a Insectoid appeared on the screen and was speaking through an electronic translator. After introducing himself as a captain with a very complicated name, Kirk found his way back to his seat wearing a meek smile. "Captain," Kirk referred to the Insectoid in title only. If the distress call was urgent, then time prevented him from fighting with a name that would require him to rip out his own tongue to pronounce it. "We have been ordered to this destination by Starfleet HQ. I was unaware that anyone else had these coordinates."

Through a mechanical voice that rang through the bridge, the Insectoid captain said, "We were simply responding to the distress call sent from this planet."

"And you felt the need to investigate by yourself, without first relaying the message to Starfleet?" Jim asked curiously. "Section G-18 of response rights protocol states that signals of emergency or distress from a planet that is a member of the Federation must be relayed to Starfleet immediately. Were you aware of this protocol?"

There was a pause, and neither one of the captains spoke. Kirk narrowed his eyes and took a breath before speaking again. "I hope you are aware of it, seeing as you are the...captain of your ship."

Several members of the bridge turned back to look to the Insectoid Captain, who held the silence for a long while before he replied. "Yes, I am aware of said protocol."

"Good! If you have a team on the surface, I suggest you get them back on board immediately, as Starfleet is now investigating the matter," Kirk instructed -- and was somewhat surprised to see that the Martian Captain seemed to delay his response. "Again, Captain, is that completely understood?"

Once the Insectoid captain agreed, he was fairly quick to end his transmission, as well as what little courtesy he had extended.

"Chekhov," Kirk said, "record that ship's flight codes, and notify the rest of the ships in the area that this distress call is now under the investigation of Starfleet. Collect all their flight codes as well." His eyes were still looking out to the planet in front of him; his glance stern and suspicious.

"Captain?" came Chekhov's voice, accented in curiosity.

"Something smells fishy here." Kirk immediately keyed his communicator to Spock, who was leading his new squad through the halls toward the beam pad. "Spock, just a head's up - something seems a little off. There appear to be several ships in the area who have employed ground crews to the Odoculan surface."

Spock could pick up the hint of suspicion in his voice. "That's odd. Why would independent vessels deploy their own investigation crew without first notifying Starfleet?"

Glancing briefly back to the planet, Kirk inhaled and shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. Just make sure everyone is armed, all right? The Captain we spoke to was a Xindi-Insectoid and didn't seem very pleased that I told him to recall his crew."

"Curious." Spock looked off to his crew who was now suiting up on the beam pad. "I will contact you after 180 minutes on the planet's surface. If we come into contact with terrestrial crews I will notify them to contact the _Enterprise_."

"Good luck." Kirk saluted him, and closed his communicator.

Spock stepped onto the pad. Turning to face Scotty on the control panel, Spock's instructions were firm as they usually were. "Mr. Scott, we may need to leave the planet on abrupt notice. Certain aspects of the planet's surface and its individuals lead me to believe this mission may not be as peaceful as initially planned. Please make sure your station in manned at all times."

"Nooo..." Scotty said back and then waved him off. "T'was just gonna leave you out in the cold. Not to worry, Commander -- if anything does happen, we'll await your command and have you home in a split sec'nd."

"Very good," Spock said, nodding to him one last time before turning to look straight ahead. "Energize." And within a few traces of light, the seven man crew that Spock had assigned to the Odoculan surface had disappeared.

"Well then!" Scotty spun out of his chair, smacking his lips. "It's time for a sandwich."

* * * * *


	3. Chapter 3

Beaming down to the surface, Spock noticed a familiarity to the planet that haunted him for a few seconds before he regained his bearings. They had landed upon a small plateau along a cliff, facing out toward a large plain to the south and a dilapidated forest to the east.

His dark eyes scanned the world in front of him. The wind had a dry heat to it, carrying with it the scent of ozone. Dust was everywhere, and clung to their uniforms, matting their colors with the beige tone of the planet. The soil was cracked and parched for rain. This once vital place had long since turned into a desert.

Something deep in the pit of his stomach reminded him of his home.

As the rest of his crew materialized behind him, he spun on his heel to offer them direction. "It doesn't appear that we'll be receiving many warm welcomes on this planet, and so I want everyone to treat this mission as if it may quickly become hostile." He pulled the phaser from its holster on his belt. "Remain alert and follow my lead. Separate into pairs; each crew member on survey duty will be covered by someone who is operating a weapon. Each pair will not be farther than 100 meters away from another one. Phasers will remain on stun unless I give expressed orders to set them to kill. Understood?"

"No warm welcomes indeed. This planet seems about as cozy as cuddling with a Klingon." The young officer who spoke was Thomas Sparkes. He has a lot of promise as a leader and Kirk had told Spock of his admiration for the boy. Regardless of his ego and sense of humor, Spock agreed that Sparkes' leadership skills required nurturing in order to develop, which is why he had decided to bring him today. But a crew erupting in laughter was not the way he wanted to start his mission.

"Officer Sparkes..." The Commander started and took a couple steps toward the young man. "Need I remind you that this mission is of the utmost importance? The data you collect on this surface will be relayed back to the Admiral of Starfleet Command. From here on in distracting your crew may lead to a serious lapse in judgment or safety." He didn't feel good about reprimanding the officer in front of his peers, but allowing a leader type to think he can get away with immaturity created arrogance in young men... not always an attractive quality in a leader. "Do you understand?"

Tom had slouched over ever so slightly as Spock approached him, and listened with his eyes pointed directly forward, refraining from eye contact. "Yessir, Commander," he said, straightening up as he did.

Spock turned to survey the area again. "Very good." He almost casually stepped to the edge of the small plateau which lead to a steep, yet scalable incline. "Let's go," he instructed, before gracefully making his way towards the surface of the planet only several meters below them.

As they began to cross the desert plain, several crew members put on goggles to survey the area through the dust. Their counterparts were monitoring the area carefully, weapons drawn and set to stun. All kept quiet. The only movement that Spock could discern was that of the lightly swirling dust which seemed to cover everything, appearing to have several of the same qualities as snow, which he had experienced on Earth. He imagined that whoever was on the planet (if anyone at all) was probably taking refuge in the twisted and dry forest farther to the east, a destination that they were slowly making their way toward.

Pulling his communication device from his belt, he spoke to the team furthest to the north. "Beta Team, report on atmospheric aspects," he requested.

"Commander, barometric pressure is optimal. Wind is moving North-North-East at 5kms per hour. The dust appears to be sitting a concentration of 450 parts per million." A young man's voice responded with a military precision.

Narrowing his sharp eyes Commander Spock nodded "Please keep an eye on the air-soil concentration levels. If it climbs any higher then 550 parts per million I want the team to apply their filtration masks."

But before he could receive an affirmative, his team furthest to the East began a crew wide transmission. "Commander, Gamma Team. The air to soil ratio closer to the wooded area appears to be much lower: 250 parts her million and falling. From this point we have adequate communication capabilities to the Enterprise."

Briefly, Spock checked the time on his communication device, knowing that within twenty minutes the Enterprise would be expecting a transmission of his progress on the Martian planet. "I want each team to reconvene at Gamma Team's location within the next twenty minutes and compile data for a transmission to the Enterprise."

Finally, as the Vulcan Commander came within view of Gamma team he reached one of his hand into his hair, shaking out the cloud of dust that had amassed there. Most of the teams were collected already, and the remaining pairs were making their way out of the dusty plain and into a alcove of trees where the Gamma team had transmitted their original signal. "Alright, each team prepare to up-link their collected data to the Enterprise while I establish a connection."

Through his instruction the teams immediately began sorting through their data. Moving to manipulate a small device on his hip, Spock began his video transmission to the ship, gazing deeply into the small display screen.

Within a few seconds Spock could visually acknowledge the Bridge "Good to see that you're still alive. What's it like down there?" Kirk asked almost excitedly in a tone that caused the less than enthused Commander to twist his brow in disbelief. Did he honestly think they were having fun down here?

Through Jim's boyish excitement Spock continued to shake the dust from his hair. "Besides dusty... there doesn't appear to be a lot to the terrain. However we have approached what appears to have once been a beautiful forest area. I'll be brining back soil samples with me, but I believe my team has compiled sufficient data to send you a preliminary report on the terra-formations and atmosphere." he reported back to the bridge, some of the crew on the ship appeared genuinely interested as they looked to the background of Spock's transmission.

"Looks like a desert planet..." Uhura said as she stepped into view on the tiny screen of the Commander's communicator.

"Yes, well it's certainly appearing to be becoming one. Why? Does this fact surprise you?" Spock asked, quirking his eyebrow to Uhura's seemingly simple revelation.

"Yes it does. When was the last time you saw a thriving forest next to a span of desert? That doesn't happen in nature. Those trees are long since dead, and the planet doesn't look as though it received rain in quite some time." She explained curiously and shook her head in disbelief. "It's not a far stretch to believe that the plain you were on was once a meadow next to that forest."

"Aaaand, your concern being?" Kirk asked her, egging her on to a point.

"My concern is that... The Stardate listed in the transmission is correct. Spock, that transmission was sent five years ago. It's entirely possible that the planet has been in distress for five years. The environment proves it." she explained, the metallic sound of her voice made a great portion of Spock's ground crew sit up and take notice.

"Spock, your mission has officially become a rescue mission. I was right, something is smelling particularly fishy now. This planet was surrounded by ships who said they were responding to a distress call; a distress call that could be potentially five years old. If there are any Odoculan survivors we need to be searching for them now." James said with a level of authority that Spock had not seen from him since the attack on the Neruda.

"Captain, I calculate that after five years of drought the likelihood of finding any survivors on this planet is one in 543,000," he reported in his standard mathematical logic.

"Well, I don't like those odds, but let's keep our fingers crossed. The _Enterprise_ may have stumbled upon a very endangered species today, and we need to do a full scan to make sure we're not leaving anyone behind," Jim explained in the same metallic twang as Uhura.

"Commander!"

Glancing away from his communicator, Spock seemed to briefly acknowledge that slightly apprehensive voice that called to him. "_Enterprise _will rendezvous for further communications in another 3 hours time," he said offhandedly as he continued to look over to the officer who had called to his attention. "Ground team out."

One of the ground surveillance officers was looking off into the dusty plain, her goggles adjusting automatically and were locked on something in the distance, appearing to trace movement. "I'm recording movement bearing east at a...ridiculous speed..." the officer trailed off.

Spock waved over Officer Sparkes who immediately handed him a pair of surveillance goggles. As he slid them over his head and around his eyes, Spock peered through the greenish glare of the glasses as they canceled out the clouds of dust. They took a few seconds to adjust; whirring and buzzing quietly to lock on the image.

There came a few seconds of concentration, followed by a rare moment of surprise. "Is that...?" he began, tracing the movement as it occurred in the far distance.

"It appears to be living-terrestrial, Commander."

Indeed it was, and Spock had never seen anything like it. There was a figure moving at a remarkable pace through the dust and toward the wooded area. "Bipedal, a gait of four to five feet. Commander, it's unlike anything I've seen before."

The setting sun had begun to filter its orange light through the dust, casting beams in every direction and giving the planet a surreal, translucent glow. He couldn't make out any of the finer details, but from what he did see, this figure was moving an an incredible rate of speed - but gracefully, as if the act of moving so fast was of a second nature. In the back of his mind, Spock knew that without a shadow of a doubt a human would never be able to match that speed.

He stood there in stunned silence during those few moments of watching, before it disappeared into the the cover of the dead Odoculan forest. He looked to the officer who had handed him the goggles, tossing him his communicator. "Get back in touch with the _Enterprise_. I need a physical description of the Odoculi natives immediately."

Sparkes nodded as his commander donned the goggles again and rushed to the very cusp of the woods ahead of his team. Using the goggles to magnify the area, Spock looked in vain for the creature and its tremendous speed.

"Commander Spock!" Turning once again to the officer who had made the initial observation, Spock quickly readjusted the goggles to view a pair of land vehicles moving quickly along the exact same path the creature had just taken. "They appear to be... giving chase, Sir."

Spock knew that if they were going to catch up with this sprinting creature, they were going to have to move fast. "Officer Sparkes, do we have a description?"

"They are connecting with Starfleet HQ to get a description on the Odoculi. They will submit it to us in writing as soon as they have it so we don't have to maintain video transmission."

Without another thought Spock waved them toward the forest wall. "Everyone, phasers drawn, set on stun. We're going to have to move quickly through this brush if we're going to catch up. Sparkes, keep an eye out for the transmission from the Enterprise. Stay close. Please do not attempt to separate."

The commander's tone had built up a great deal of excitement in his ground team, who quickly followed him into the withered brush of the forest which was woven with foot paths, worn down over years of use. Now they snaked like chalky lines through a world of dead wood and dried leaves. Although they couldn't comment on the creature that they had seen, the environment was hostile in and of itself. Thorns from the underbrush seemed to claw at their uniforms, which were thankfully strong enough to resist puncture. Vines and roots bubbled out of the path, which slowed them down considerably.

Gazing off into the distance, Spock was only able to catch momentary glances at the creature as its silhouette moved beyond the trees. "Commander," said Sparkes, "they are approximately five hundred meters due east of us and appear to be closing in at a degree of point seven eight."

Indeed, the transports that had been following the creature turned in their direction, as if their prey was leading them in a circle. But before Spock had a chance to respond another of his officers spoke up. "Lock on the living-terrestrial is two hundred and fifty meters and closing fast!"

Spock looked dead ahead, but his goggles slid out of focus. Pulling them off, the commander ordered in what had to be his most demanding tone, "Move!" The team seemed to dive in different directions into the thick roots and thorn-filled vines twisted into intricate, albeit uncomfortable, nests of dried flora.

The sound of galloping feet drummed the ground for a few seconds and Spock found himself unable to react in time, his eyes wide in shock. Phaser pointed out in front of him, the creature came into view.

It was tall, thin, and emaciated, and yet it appeared intolerably strong. As it closed the space in between them, it seemed to acknowledge his presence with the same amount of surprise that he had shown it. Using a long wooden staff in its right hand, it stopped short of Spock by only a few feet and then vaulted into the air.

Turning violently, Spock moved his weapon along with his torso, scouring the area. It was gone.

"Officer Sparkes! The description."

"Commander! Description: females average 180 centimeters, males nearly 200, long limbs, agile and fast moving, enlarged irises, and lean muscle structure!" Officer Sparkes' voice called out over the movement that was occurring around him.

That was exactly the description Spock was hoping for. Before he had time to respond there came a sound, a chirping sound...a whistle that drew Spock's attention up and away.

About twelve feet over his head and in a tree not far from him, it was poised, long legs sprung up against the trunk of the tree. He saw a humanoid face with a murderous grin. Involuntary response had caused him to turn his phaser up and toward the sound. As soon as the creature had caught sight of the weapon its facial features became colder, harsher, and more frenzied. Launching itself away from the tree and directly toward the commander, many of the officers called out in shock or awe, but again it fell short of actually attacking him. With a firm hold on its wooden staff, it took a blinding swing at the phaser, sending it spiraling from the commander's grasp.

With his opposite hand Spock grabbed hold of the staff, careful not to take his eyes off of from the creature. It was recognizably female, and fast beyond belief.

Time was unfortunately up on his observation.

Instead of pulling the staff away from him, however, the palm of her free hand slammed into the middle of it, cracking it in half with another lightning-fast movement. "I believe in giving a hunter a fair fight..." she growled.

He kept his eyes trained on her, still holding on to his end of the shattered staff. "You're an Odoculan, and they're chasing you," he said, in what he hoped was a calmer voice.

"And you..." she growled again, studying him for a moment before her large eyes fixed on the Federation symbol adorning his uniform, "are Starfleet...you're late, and you're very good at stating the obvious." She chuckled before looking over the Commander's shoulder. Taking concern with what might have been occurring behind him he glanced over his shoulder, attempting to keep an eye on her. The pair of land vehicles were where making their way through the trees carefully, their pace much slower then she had been. Before he could turn to acknowledge her again she snatched the other end of her staff from his hand and turned to sprint away from the craft as they continued their pursuit.

Spock's dark eyes narrowed as he watched her sprint away into the forest, but immediately he turned to place his sight the crude machinery clumsily making their way closer to the group. They were slow-moving for hovercraft, with the bulky, unsophisticated build that the Xindi-Insectoids had become known for. Slowly the crew members began to pick themselves out of the brush and help one another to their feet. "Sir," said Sparkes, "the _Enterprise _has already asked Xindi forces to evacuate their teams from the surface."

"Officer, are you informing me that they have been adequately warned?" Spock asked, inwardly furious that his mission had been interrupted through disobedience.

"Yes sir. Additional readings show that the hull is made from reinforced steelplast. These vehicles weren't built for this terrain, and they are not armed with shields. They almost appear to be civilian vehicles."

Not taking his eyes off the vehicles as they approached, Spock motioned an officer to provide him with a new phaser, before ordering him to carefully avoid the vehicles and see if he could locate the seemingly startled creature that had run off. "Set your phasers accordingly, officers," he said, his tone surprisingly pristine and calm. "We are going to aim for the hull of each vehicle, and that should be enough to dissuade them. On my command fire one shot, and one shot only."

Taking an offensive stance, Spock raised the officer's weapon and adjusted it to its cutting feature. Those armed among his team quickly followed suit and took their positions to either side of him. "Ready." On his command his ground team raised their weapons to take aim at the approaching vessels. "Aim." Waiting for the vehicles to move within range, Spock noticed that they did not slow at the sight of the Federation crew.

"Fire."

The zapping sound of their phasers rang out unanimously. The two hovercraft took the bolts head-on. Light sparked from the hulls, and they drastically decreased their speed, groaning to a halt as they impacted on the ground. The phaser blasts were mere warning shots, but with such poor armor, they were enough to blast a few small holes in the hulls of their vehicles. Within minutes, their weapons still drawn, the _Enterprise _team had them surrounded.

One of the hatches soon opened, and the the numerous limbs of the Insectoids inside were raised in surrender. In the back of his mind, the location of the Odoculan still nagged at Spock. His mission had been to successfully track and find these creatures and his stroke of luck at finding one may have been gone. The sound of crunching leaves and twigs came from behind him, and giving a guarded glance over his shoulder, Spock spied the officer he had sent in search of her. "Officer, I thought I had asked you to go in search of the fleeing Odoculan?"

"You did, sir, but..." he started, before almost immediately being cut off by his Commander.

"Finding and retrieving that humanoid is our number one priority under direct order from the Captain." But when Spock tried to instruct him, the young man seemed to look away from his Commander, exasperated.

"As I was saying sir," the officer continued, "it's not difficult to find someone who isn't running, and not even hiding really." He pointed back in the direction that the creature had been seen taking off running. "She's about twenty meters northwest, sir, in a tree. She seemed quite calm when she saw that I wasn't armed. She's adamant to defend herself... she just seems..." the officer shrugged. "She looks tired."

Inhaling deeply, Spock turned back and handed the officer back his weapon. "Keep an eye on these Xindi until I get back. Disable their transmission equipment. We're going to communicate with their captain and let them know that they'll be questioned." Dusting himself off for a moment, he looked back up to the member who had located her. "Does she seem willing to communicate?"

Shrugging once again, the young man shook his head. "She spoke briefly, but only in whispers, sir."

"Very well. Keep all weapons on stun, and don't take your eye off them."

Spock made his way back to where they had initially came into contact with the creature, and then proceeded the additional twenty meters northwest. Perched there in a tree, her back leaning up against a mighty and yet hollow trunk, the Odoculan sat.

Although there were several similarities to human, there were many key differences - the most obvious being the long limbs and muscle structure. Although weakened from hunger, physically she appeared very strong and well-conditioned. Her hair was thick, long, and tangled, matted from too much time spent weaving in and out of forest undergrowth. The bones of her ribcage protruded awkwardly from her skin, and her stomach was concave against her spine. Her knees were bent - where on a human they would come to contact against their chest, hers came to rest against her shoulders. Her forehead pressed against her thighs, her chest heaving and collapsing heavily over strained breath.

Suddenly, for a moment, Spoke thought that the glance he gave her was sympathy. Then she pulled her head up and looked down at him. He cleared his throat, and was about to place his hands behind his back, but thought better of it. Best not to arouse suspicion. "My name is Commander Spock, First Officer of the U.S.S _Enterprise_. We are in the process of apprehending the Xindi-Insectoids who were chasing you. You're safe now."

Slowly, a grin spread across her face that warped itself into a full smile. Paired with it was a deep, disbelieving chuckle. "I'm sorry. Commander... Spock, was it?" she started. He immediately noticed that that her English was unaccented, her voice smooth where it had been hoarse and angry just minutes ago. The officer was right: she was either calm, or incredibly fatigued. Considering her physical appearance, he was guessing the later. "Safety is not a notion that I'm familiar with. To the point where simple the implication of the idea is fairly amusing. So, please, don't take offense if I don't believe you."

He felt a slight sting of offense, but Spock had mastered keeping such displeasure to himself. "The crew of the _Enterprise _is more then capable of providing you with a level of safety that you can no longer experience on your homeworld. We're curious to know what transpired here to require a distress call."

He watched as she moved both of her legs over the thick branch she was sitting upon and slid onto the ground a couple meters below. Standing at her full height, she was as tall as him, but their proportions were radically different. She stood several feet away from him as he tried his best to restrain himself from reacting to her physical presence. Her large, almost doe-shaped eyes narrowed at him, and she looked at him sideways, silent for a moment as she studied him. "You really don't know?"

"Don't know what, madam?"

His simple, yet honest, revelation seemed to ease her further and her eyes shifted from suspicious to forgiving. "Hmm." Breathing heavily, she leaned up against the trunk of the same tree and wrapped her long limbs around her torso, as if comforting a wound. She looked away from him and took a couple of slow steps towards the dry and dusty plains she had sprinted from just moments ago. "Get your crew out of here, Commander. There's no point in attempting to salvage this failed mission. Had you been here five years ago... perhaps. But now... like I said before, you're late. Too late, it would seem."

Her medical condition was visibly distressing, and Spock caught himself wondering how only a few moments ago she had managed to intimidate nearly his entire crew into submission. "The extent of your injuries over the course of five years have likely caused severe damage to your organs and basic bodily functions. I've been given orders by my captain to aid all Odoculan survivors. That includes you. If you are indeed a dying species, then I'm willing to do so by any means necessary."

That last statement was enough to stop her in her tracks. "Oho!" she turned to glance at him over her bony shoulder. Shortly the rest of her body followed, her arms falling defensively to her sides. "Any means necessary? Clearly, commander, you don't think of me as human. I'm familiar with Vulcans... and I must say, I'm quite the adversary when provoked." Her tone conveyed more confidence than outright arrogance, but she didn't seem particularly willing to leave the planet's surface peaceably.

"I'm not disagreeing with you. Myself and the rest of my crew observed the way you moved a moment ago. That being said, if I'm unable to persuade you, I may have to resort to other tactics." Spock kept his tone unthreatening, and he said what he said merely to inform, but the Odoculan didn't seem pleased with his objective to take her into custody.

Illustrating her distaste for his mission, she needed only to take a few steps in her long stride until she stood just a foot or so in front of him, her visage hard, and yet almost curious to see his reaction. Spock kept still and only looked her in the eye. He found it hard to look away from what he saw, perfectly reflected in her large dark eyes, an image of himself.

And, what might that be?" she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side.

"Am I to understand that you will not come with us willingly?" he asked her once more... his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, realizing that he may not have made it clear that he was giving her a final warning.

Her own eyes narrowed as well. "Guess," she said in an acid tone.

Without another moment of provocation, Spock reached out quickly and took ahold of the muscles that arched from the nook of her neck and squeezed. Almost immediately her knees buckled, her eyes dulled, and as she moved towards the ground, she could only say "Damn" very bluntly, caught off guard by his nerve pinch. Bending at the knees, Spock caught her and picked up her surprisingly light frame into a damsel carry.

He turned and made his way back through the forest to his team. A few of them glanced over to him as he brought over the unconscious Odoculan. Sparkes smiled meekly and turned to look back to the Xindi who were still surrounded by the Enterprise crew.

"Seeing as we all seem to have our hands full, sir, should we be heading back to the _Enterprise _at this point?" Sparkes asked with the same grin.

Glancing from the woman in his arms and back to Sparkes, Spock nodded "There isn't much of a point in continuing to search for other survivors. She is in need of medical attention immediately." Motioning them back toward the open plain, his crew and the Xindi intruders made their way toward the edge of the brush to initiate contact with the _Enterprise _once again.

Sparkes moved up beside his commander and glanced down to the unconscious Odoculan in his arms. "Who is she, sir?"

Glancing over her once more, Spock's eyes came to rest on her face. Where it had once been distorted with anger was now neutral... almost peaceful. "I'm not entirely sure, but whoever she is... she's survived incredible odds. Odds that I would have calculated were impossible."


	4. Chapter 4

"Prison deck?" Kirk asked as McCoy, Spock and himself made their way down to Level 10, where their new guest was confined.

"We had transported her to the Medical Bay as per your orders, Captain," Spock said. "However, as soon as Doctor McCoy injected her with a sedative, she was roused to consciousness and attacked several of the medical staff."

Kirk and Spock glanced over at McCoy, who was sporting a swollen and slightly bruised cheekbone. Sighing he looked at two of them, clearly exasperated "Well how was I supposed to know that the sedative wouldn't work on her? I didn't think it was going to be enough to wake her up! Besides, she didn't seem angry afterward when she told me it wouldn't work." he explained and almost seemed to pout as he looked towards the elevator doors as they slid open.

"Yeah, because you know, you're as gentle as a lamb with those injections of yours," Kirk scoffed, and then rubbed his neck at the memory. "If she'd been in a _coma _you still might've been able to wake her up." He rolled his eyes as the three of them walked side by side down the long corridor. Kirk personally hated being down here. There wasn't anything particularly intimidating about it; the walls were the same white and blue color as the majority of the hallways throughout the _Enterprise_. Maybe it was the fact that he was nearly thrown in here that caused him a particular hatred of it. "Still...I can't say that I'm very surprised. God knows I wasn't very happy with you when I received one of those 'death grips' or whatever the hell you call them." Reminiscing about all this pain was beginning to make him realize that he really did get off to a shaky start on this ship.

"The term death grip is incorrect: I used a nerve pinch on you, as well as on this Odoculan," Spock explained as they stepped up the guards who kept watch at the entrance. As per regulation, they stepped to the side to allow the three to pass.

Kirk stopped to address them as they did. "What about you, gentlemen? Has our guest been giving you a hard time?" he asked, as if he already knew the answer.

"No, Captain..." As the guard paused, Kirk glanced at Spock and McCoy smugly. "In fact she's been quite polite."

Glancing away from his captain's dubious glance and back down the corridor, Spock noticed that the lights had been turned down quite significantly. "Why have the lights been dimmed?" he asked curiously.

"Why Spock, afraid of the dark?" Kirk teased. "You know, if she jumps out at you again you could always just death grip her like you did before."

"It is a nerve pinch, and I'm not afraid of her," the commander remarked flatly, and tugged at the hem of his shirt to smooth it out. "I was simply asking why the lights have been adjusted."

"Commander," one of the guard quipped to address him, "she had asked if we could turn the lights down for her. It seems as though her eyes are sensitive to the light."

Kirk motioned McCoy and Spock into the hall of cells, each one of them empty. "Last cell on the left, Captain," the guard remarked to him offhandedly as the three men made their way inside, the door sliding shut behind them.

The room was not completely inhospitable. There was a long window on the far wall, out of which a panoramic view of Odoculus and the surrounding space could be seen. With the room being as dimly lit as it was, the prison didn't have the harsh appearance it normally did. Generally people were not kept here very long and were either transferred to prison ships, or met with the captain to explain themselves. As tough as she may have been Kirk didn't expect that she was thick-skinned enough to handle being sent to a prison ship, nor did he think it was necessary. Taking the time to actually speak to her was imperative to her rescue. Such contradicting reports on the Odoculan had caused Jim to become incredibly curious about her nature.

She was clearly an adequate fighter, and yet Spock had explained, when they had spoken upon his arrival from the planet, that she appeared intelligent and concerned for the safety of his crew. McCoy had simply said that, even after she gave him what he had earlier described as "one helluva right hook", she had calmly explained that medicines made for humans had little to no effect on her. Why would someone as intelligent and as polite as she seemed to be also appear so eager to fight defensively? It was something he planned on discovering for himself.

As they came to the cell at the end of the corridor, they saw three chairs had been placed in front of the plexiglass wall that separated her from the rest of them. Holes drilled in the top border of the panel allowed oxygen to circulate and made for more personable communication. Inside the cell, in a simple metal chair, sat the captured Odoculan. Her legs were crossed one over the other, her hands resting folded in her lap. When she came into view, her eyes were closed, but as their footsteps came to a halt, her lids fluttered open. Shadows crept onto her face, and the minute traces of light from the planet outside reflected in her dark irises.

"Well... here they are. My gracious conquerors." Her voice was not what one would call jovial. It was more of a dark purr, which, while it sounded pleasant, had a tone of contempt lurking beneath it.

Taking the middle seat and allowing Spock and McCoy to sit on either side of him, Kirk leaned forward and spoke casually, so as not to threaten her further. "My name is Captain James T. Kirk. I can imagine that you're not very pleased with us, but I wanted to take the time to talk to you about the distress signal that Starfleet received from your planet."

"As I told Commander Spock on the surface... you're late." She gazed away from the three of them, less then impressed. Her neck was slouched ever so slightly, obviously annoyed at having to repeat the situation yet again. "The distress signal was sent when the star your maps may refer to as NRV-873 – the Odoculan sun - suddenly flared and sent the planet nearly three full degrees out of orbit. I suppose that would explain the environmental disaster."

Kirk smiled weakly before he nodded. "Yes, I imagine that would do it, Miss..." He urged her for a name, but she said nothing. "Ahem, _any_way... I know we're late. We came to that realization when the commander here was observing your planet from the surface. What the crew as well as Starfleet fail to realize is how we could have missed something so dire."

"Romulans."

"R...Rom...Romulans?"

"Yes, Romulans. I trust you're familiar with them? They kind of look like your Vulcan friend here, but they're bulkier and angrier," she said, gesturing to Spock.

"I beg your pardon, madam, but Vulcans and Romulans are..." Spock had started before a chuckle came from their captive.

"My, you're sensitive for a Vulcan. Not to worry, Commander, I am entirely familiar with the differences between the two species. But back to my point. Romulans intercepted the signal and weakened it significantly, which gave them the opportunity to respond to it before Starfleet had the chance," she explained to a slightly confused Kirk, but her eyes never left the Vulcan's face, noticing the slight twitch in his left eyebrow. It appeared to have coaxed a heavy sigh from her.

"Why would they do such a thing?" Kirk asked, stunned.

"To enjoy the hunt for themselves, I suppose." There was another sigh as she looked out to their confused faces. Placing her fingertips to her forehead in exasperation, she rubbed her brow for a long moment. "Clearly you have no idea what I'm talking about."

Kirk leaned back in his chair, concerned. "What hunt? They're hunting _you_?"

"Please excuse me, Captain, I was under the impression that before you dove headlong into an investigation on any species, you would at least do preliminary research."

And in a very rare rebuttal, Spock actually defended his Captain. "Not even Starfleet Command appears to have much information on your species. In fact, they were only able to provide us with a very vague physical description. Some education on your species would shed some much-needed light on your predicament."

Raising her eyebrows, which created small narrow creases in her forehead, she glanced away. To Kirk's eye, it looked like she was having a hard time believing that she would tell them what she was about to tell them. "Before I explain anything... I need some sort of amnesty, or protection. If your entire crew learns about my nature, I'll be at just as much risk here as I was on my home world." Looking over the three of them with those sharp eyes, she glanced back to the captain and nodded. "Is that understood?"

Spock had heard quite enough. "Madam, it is not customary to _order _the captain of a Starfleet vess..."

Making the same whistling noise she had before to garner his immediate attention, she held up the incredibly long index finger of her left hand. "Let's get one thing straight: he's your captain, not mine. While I'm here, I will graciously appreciate being your guest, but my number one priority is my safety. If my one and only demand cannot be met, then I ask that you place me back on the surface of my planet and go about your business."

Spoke straightened his back, his brows piqued in surprise of her commanding tone. She was right. She might have been aboard the _Enterprise_, but she certainly wasn't a crew member. She wasn't required to answer to any of them. Even considering this logic, he was _infuriated_ by her, and although Spock didn't let it show he wished for nothing more then to school her on the particulars of rank and propriety. But when the commander took his eyes away from her, he could see that the corners of her lips had turned up into a forced grin.

"That's a demand I can meet," Kirk said. "As of this moment, I'm ordering that none of this conversation will leave this room. Whatever you tell us will remain between McCoy, Spock and myself. That's a promise I can make. I trust these men with my life, and I know they won't disobey me if it's something as dire as you're making it out to be."

She smiled, leaning back in her chair once again. "Well then, I shan't hesitate. The Odoculi are an ancient race. The elders of the species have survived for thousands of years. I myself am relatively young in comparison to them." She glanced upward to the ceiling for a moment, as if lost in thought. A few seconds later she glanced back down to them, sighing almost in disgust. "I believe that I am roughly around...185 of your Earth years at this point, but its been some time since I've observed the correct stardate."

"The stardate is 2258.283," McCoy said, with a furrowed brow and pursed lips.

"Ah, then it's 183..."

Kirk shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around the longevity of the species. "How on earth do the members of your species manage to survive for millennia, as you've said, without showing signs of age?"

She moved her hands up, as if to calm him. "Well, just a moment, just a moment... I'm getting to that." Although in Kirk's opinion, she didn't seem to be very swift to make her point. The Odoculan placed one hand on her thigh, the other scratching behind her ear. "By adulthood, which is usually around 20 years of age, the elders offer the youth of the species a...gift. It is the recipient's choice to accept it, and should it be refused, an Odoculan may live a life span roughly equal to that of a human being. Seventy to ninety years or so."

"Sounds like quite the gift!" Kirk remarked. He could see how accepting the gift of longevity might be tempting to some, but he was having a hard time connecting the idea of a hunt with the agelessness that she was educating them on. "I can imagine that you could do a lot in the span of 180 years."

Smugly, she rested her elbow on the armrest of the metal chair, extending her arm away from her so that she could casually inspect her fingernails. "One of the elders said that the Odoculi would go down in galactic history as the least productive race of creatures there ever was. Because when you have all the time in the world, what's to stop you from squandering it all?"

"Good point." Kirk said, smiling back. Simply watching her sit there was quite the treat. Her graceful appearance was a nice compliment to her somewhat abrasively charming personality. Her shady grin made it clear that there was more than what met the eye, but her hesitation and her lack of details made it difficult to sort out exactly what she was trying to conceal from them. "So what exactly is this gift?"

"It is a mineral that is absorbed into the body." Tapping a long index finger to her chin, she reflected for a few seconds. "I believe your human medical texts refer to it as evocentium."

"Evocentium?" Kirk questioned again, feeling more and more in the dark during this conversation...maybe he _should _have tried to do some research.

"_Evocentium_?" McCoy almost jumped out of his seat and the two men looked over at him in surprise. "I, uh... read about it in the naturopathy class they make you take as a prereq in medschool," he explained to the two of them and then looked deeply into her cell. "But it's just a myth."

"Yes, and up until yesterday you would have believed the planet of Odoculus was a _myth _until you had seen it with your own eyes. Just because it's not on a map or proven as fact doesn't mean it's a fallacy." She took in a deep breath. "Now you understand."

Kirk was still overcome with confusion, and a little frustrated that the conversation was going _this _far over his head. "Okay, let's get direct here, shall we? What the hell is it?" he asked, maybe a little too honestly, though the Odoculan only giggled gently in response.

"It's one of the most sought-after minerals in the galaxy, and yet no human, or Vulcan, or any other species has come close to being able to use it," McCoy said in a zombified tone as he continued to look into her cell. "It's supposed to be known for its amazing healing capabilities and..." He paused, glancing up to her face.

"And... _what_?" Kirk asked again. This time suspense was keeping him interested, not just mere confusion.

The woman smiled as her glance moved from a disbelieving McCoy to a skeptical Spock and back over to their confused captain. "Agelessness," she said, finally, and the word had such a profound impact on the two that Kirk exhaled a sigh of understanding.

Spock, on the other hand, turned his head from attempting to ignore the conversation to finally object. He'd heard enough. The very idea of a lifespan lasting millennia and surreal abilities all derived from a _mineral _was something that crept dangerously close to the edge of his logic. "Impossible. The very idea of immortality or 'agelessness' as you put it is reserved to stories for human children."

"Yes, and clearly not children of the Vulcan variety," she stabbed back at him. "You think I'm lying to you? This is not a casebook study, or a piece of ongoing research. _This_ is my _life_, and unfortunately for you there will be no status report to refer to," she spat at him almost venomously.

"Captain, surely if this was the truth, there would be far more text, study, and interaction with the Odoculi. None of this can be taken for fact until enough study has been documented to prove it within the shadow of doubt." Spock glared back at her, sternly. "And the shadows surrounding this woman are thick, to say the very least."

"Clearly, Commander Spock, there is a lot that you don't understand about my race, and maybe later I will further explain my hostility, but your disbelief and presumptuous attitude is causing me a great deal of grief and I would enjoy it very much if you would leave." As she spoke her seemingly calm visage had morphed into a hostile, almost jagged appearance. The words came from her mouth with such ferocity and speed that all three men now looked at her in clear shock.

Even Spock was stunned for a moment, confused at how perfectly her outward emotions paralleled his inward ones. The tone of her voice, her sharp and penetrating words...he studied her features with a curious glance, his eyebrows slanted in deliberation.

Sighing heavily and lowering his eyes to the ground, Kirk ordered him to wait outside and very sternly the commander stood up and marched down the hallway. Spock punched in orders for the door to slide open, and remain open, as he looked down the hall to where his captain continued to quietly speak with the prisoner.

"Thank you," she said, almost immediately relaxing once he had left the room.

"I want you to know, the crew is sympathetic to your situation. At this point we've done a full scan of the planet." Kirk paused and his expression turned troubled. "Our search for any remaining life is turning up very few results. Thus far we don't see any evidence of survivors."

From his position near the door, Spock's ears picked up on the news that the captain had just provided her. It was almost too easy to reflect back on the billions of lives coming abruptly to an end, to watch helplessly as his home collapsed into nothingness. While her situation wasn't nearly as drastic, it was just as heartwrenching. Spock knew what that feeling was like, but his visage remained steadfast.

Across the room, there was a slight sting in the Odoculan's mind. That sad truth was enough break her fortitude. Her heart felt as though it might cave in upon itself, and her posture buckled as she slumped over in her chair. Tears flooded into her eyes and she tilted her head up and back into the darkness so as to hide them. It was nearly impossible to retain some kind of composure, particularly while surrounded by so much sympathy.

"I hadn't seen another for three years," she whispered, "so I had assumed as much."

"I'll have Dr. McCoy look after you. You're dehydrated and malnourished, and he'll help you out with bringing you back into health." He stood, and was surprised to see that she came to her feet as well. "Just so long as you promise not to punch in the the face anymore," he said a little more lightly, and watched her use the heel of her palm to wipe away the collecting tears.

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Captain Kirk. Regardless of my actions, I hope you know that I am truly grateful for the rescue."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded back. "Now, how about a name?" he asked, still curious to see if she would tell him.

She gave him a sideways glance, as if curious of his motive, but surely she knew a name was a fairly innocent request. "Mina...unfortunately that's all I can give you. My last name is ancestral and in ancient Odoculan. To be quite honest, _I _don't even remember how to pronounce it."

"Well, Mina, it's a pleasure to to have met you," Kirk said, with his best smile. He typed a code into the touch panel beside her cell, where the plexiglass immediately lifted. "And guests of the _Enterprise _don't spend all their time in cells. When you're feeling better, please, come visit us on the bridge." He looked over to McCoy. "Dr. McCoy will take care of you, but if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, Captain."

"You're very welcome." As he stepped back down toward the corridor, he met with Spock at the front door and motioned him to follow him back to the elevator to the bridge. "You were afraid of _that_?" he teased him once again.

"Captain, I am not afraid of her, but you must understand she's quite athletic - surprisingly so," Spock said in his defense, falling into step with his captain.

"Mmhmm." Kirk grinned and looked upward as he pressed in a command. "I think we need to work on your people skills."

Spock couldn't help but grumble a response as the lift doors closed to take them back to the bridge.


	5. Chapter 5

**[NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR]**

**Hey guys! To those who have been watching this story from the very beginning I wanted to say thanks! Knowing that you're reading every week is really giving me steam to write more. If this is your first time checking it out, thanks for taking a chance on this fic. I know there are a lot to choose from, but I'm thankful that you've taken the time to give it a read. **

**Over the past 6 weeks since I've been writing I feel like I've only scratched the surface here. However, when I started, I wasn't expecting to get nearly as many hits as I have and I feel like at this point it's really time to step up my game. In the chapters after this one you're going to what I think is a big improvement. I've got more ideas then ever before, and I'm currently working on Chapter 7 right now. So keep reading! I hope you're enjoying the story, and please comment/review. I love hearing what you guys have to say!**

**Thanks again, and enjoy Chapter 4.**

"I have to say, Mina, the fact that your body isn't showing more signs of stress is...well, it's remarkable. I've never seen anything like it."

McCoy and a couple of his medical staff were now in the large guest suite Mina had been given. Guests of the _Enterprise_ often stayed in larger, less functional suites then the rest of the crew. She looked up into the bathroom mirror where she could see his reflection behind her. While a couple of his junior medics were setting up an intravenous drip next to a large bed, McCoy continuously used a scanner to scour all of her internal functions, while she stood brushing her teeth at the sink.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment, Doctor." When his eyes flashed up to look at her she only shook her head and looked down to the sink, turning the water on. "Have you ever had an Odoculan patient before?" she asked in a slightly muffled tone before spitting.

Pulling his eyes away from his scanner, he looked over her and shook his head. "No, clearly I haven't. So far there's only been a few surprises, which is more than I like," he groaned and watched as she drank from a glass.

"Yes, well...I don't know how many more times I'll have to apologize to you." She grinned and then reached her hands up into her hair, tying it back into a large ponytail.

When she looked over to him again, he scoffed. "Apologize all you want. Doesn't make the shiner you gave me go away."

"Don't mind him." One of McCoy's medics chimed. "He wouldn't be Doctor McCoy if he wasn't abrasive."

Stepping out from the bathroom and flicking off the light, Mina looked over to McCoy. "Aren't doctors supposed to possess certain skill with bedside etiquette?"

He blinked in curiosity as she strolled past him. "That depends on how annoying the patient is," he said, leaning toward her, an unimpressed look on his face. "In your case I think my bedside etiquette is adequate."

Looking over at the medics, she raised her brows and chuckled. "Ooh! I suppose that means I've been a particularly annoying patient. I _will _have try to remedy that."

"There's a couple things we're going to have to remedy first before you can get to work on your personality," McCoy explained to her, stepping away from the bathroom and toward the bed. "What's going to happen is that these two medics are going to inject you with an intravenous drip so that you can rehydrate while you sleep. This particular drip is filled with dissolved vitamins, minerals, proteins...all that good stuff, which should help with the malnutrition. If you wake up and you're still tired, go back to sleep." She nodded, examining the drip as they set it up for her, and McCoy went on. "Your examination earlier showed that you have pretty severe muscle fatigue. I'm guessing that you'll probably rest for some time. But again... you've surprised me before. To help you sleep these guys are going to put you into a medically-induced coma. Should make sure that you sleep for at least a couple days."

"Trying to take the surprises out of things, Doctor?" Mina asked with a grin and looked over her shoulder to him. "I don't usually wake easily. Coma or not, you might not want to sneak up on me."

Raising an eyebrow he pointed to his uninjured cheek. "Not unless you wanted to even it out, huh?" he asked nonchalantly. True, it had stopped stinging some time ago, but the last time he looked in the mirror the small broken blood vessels in his cheek had begun to bruise. McCoy was hardly what one would consider a pushover, but he was going to have a hard time admitting to almost being knocked out by a girl.

Her smile was a little kinder then it had been earlier that day. "No, no... I'd say at this point you're in the clear, Doctor. No more surprises."

"Good," he said, in that characteristically harsh tone he reserved for when he wasn't particularly pleased with something. "God knows I wouldn't want to have to explain how I got _two_ black eyes."

With a chuckle, Mina walked the few paces back over to him. When she came a little closer then expected he straightened his back, his eyes narrowing to study her. "Oh..." she whispered and examined his cheek where she had punched him. Reaching her hand up to cup her long fingers under his broad jaw, her thumb brushing against the small laceration that she had placed on his cheek. "You don't look so bad."

McCoy's eyes darted away from her face, breaking the eye contact that she imposed upon him. Within a couple of seconds she had released him, but it was enough time to receive a bit of a surprised glance from his junior medics. He felt a bit of heat rise to his cheeks. "Well, er..." He looked back down at his scanner and side stepped around her. "You're just lucky it's just a scratch," he told her with a dramatic arching of his brow, and immediately turned toward the door.

She turned to gaze at him out of the corner of her eye, grinning. "Oh, I'm sure it'll heal quickly enough."

Nodding, he tried to push it out of is mind, glancing at the medics who had the tiniest of grins on their faces. "Once you're done do another scan and report back to me. You'll each be doing check-ins on six hour rotations." When they nodded the affirmative he turned back to the girl who still wore a smug smile on her face. "Get better, would ya'? I don't want you bugging me again."

"I will try, Dr. McCoy."

With a scowl he waved off the sickly-sweet tone that she had just used on him. Briskly he made his way back to the lift to head back to medical bay before providing Jim with a report on her progress. There was a mixed sense of frustration and fascination as he walk through the corridor. His bushy eyebrows furrowed, trying in vain to ignore the blush that brought a pins and needles sensation to the surface of his skin.

* * * * *

"You know why you're here," Kirk said as he sat in the cramped room, across a table from two of the captured Xindi-Insectoids. They were armored beasts that reminded Kirk very much of the summer when his childhood home was overrun by locusts. Nausea was building in his gut. The only thing he could remember was the sound of them crunching under his feet. Now, here they were again...six feet tall, walking, talking insects.

Great.

Spock sat alongside his captain, recounting that they had obviously been chasing the Odoculan that his crew had rescued just hours ago. Uhura sat in the corner with a small, digital stenographer's mask covering her lips. She paid particularly close attention when they chirped and clicked to one another in their language, and took short notes on the constant flow of excuses they fed Kirk.

"We had explained earlier: we were responding to a distress call from the planet," came the robotic voice of one of the Xindi as he spoke into a translation device.

Brows raised, Kirk nodded and then glanced over to Spock who gave a disbelieving glance back to his Captain. "Oh! Right, the distress call I nearly forgot." Shrugging his shoulders. Kirk's palms landed flat on the stainless steel table that divided them. "And normally that excuse would be mildly acceptable... except we've spoken to the Odoculan you were chasing. She claims that the distress call was intercepted and weakened by Romulans some time ago. That means unless you just so happened to be passing through the Delta Vega system to within just a few parsecs, you wouldn't have been able to intercept that signal."

"Your point being?" the mechanical reverberation filled the room again and it made Kirk's eyes narrow suspiciously.

"The point being," Spock responded, "that the probability of a third party intercepting and responding to that signal, even while passing through the Delta Vega system in warp, is considerably slim."

The Insectoids sat up in their chairs. There was a moment where they chirped between themselves. Over his shoulder Kirk glanced to Uhura, who gave him a knowing, yet skeptical glance.

"Well, gentle..." he trailed off and looked over them again, wondering if 'gentlemen' was the correct term to use to refer to such creatures, "...men. Ahem, yes...gentlemen. My first officer and I have a hard time believing that you had not only responded to a distress call from the planet, but also that you would be attempting to distribute aid to survivors. Particularly," he added, "after we instructed your captain to _remove _ground crews."

He stood suddenly from the table. Spock stood as well, and turned his back to the Xindi to quietly address Kirk. "Captain, we cannot continue to hold them if we cease to charge them with an offense."

"Oh, we can charge them, and we will," he said loudly enough for the Insectoids to hear. "Gentle...officers, you and your ship are to be charged with neglecting to inform Starfleet of the distress call as per section G-18 of Federation response rights protocol. Your captain will be informed, then you'll be held in our prison deck until we can address Starfleet and arrange for your trial."

Raising a spiked eyebrow, Spock appeared almost impressed with Kirk's authoritative tone. "That is...unless you can tell us something useful."

Watching them communicate with one another for a moment, one of them turned to Kirk and shook his head. Uhura's expression seemed to confirm a hidden truth here and she gazed up to Spock, whose glace must have cemented her suspicions.

"Very well. You'll be moved down to your cells momentarily." Kirk motioned his crew members towards the door, now being held open by the guards positioned outside.

"They said..." Uhura had to give chase to Spock and Kirk as they briskly moved down the corridor turning sharply to the right. "They said...ey!" When she called out to them they both stopped and turned to her. In her arms she fumbled with the stenographer's mask and a digital clipboard which contained the minutes from the interrogation. "You know, if these notes aren't important, then you shouldn't have asked me to come down and take them for you. But you should know that the things these Insectoids said both shed a lot of light and leave several questions unanswered."

Spock took the notes from her to lighten her armload. "What's the hurry?" She asked, only slightly relieved by Spock's assistance.

"I have to notify the captain of their ship that they are being detained, and I also have to file the report to Starfleet. I don't want these things on my ship much longer when I know they're lying cockroaches," Kirk said, his frustration with the Xindi-Insectoids only mildly abated.

"You know they're lying?" Uhura asked, shaking her head ever so slightly slightly with what was clearly a sense of frustration of her own.

Spock bowed his head, a small gesture of apology for leaving her in the dark. "After having spoken to the Odoculan and now to these Xindi, there appears to be several inconsistencies with their stories."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that they said they were attempting to administer aid when a basic scan of the planet would have revealed that there were no survivors – only her," Kirk continued, exasperated. "So what were they doing on that planet?"

Turning to look at Jim, she gestured to her notes which Spock was diligently reading over. "They said they needed to continue their search..."

"...or they were getting nothing," Spock finished her sentence and looked back towards his captain to inhaled deeply through his nose; his lips pressed together so tightly that they were two strips of white flesh.

Immediately Kirk began marching back toward the elevator at a furious pace, causing Spock and Uhura to hurry after him. "Commander, get to her guest suite, see if she's gone under already. If not, call me. I need to get back up to the bridge now and put in that report." Once in the elevator he turned around and punched in the commands to take him to the bridge. "If the Xindi captain doesn't hear from me soon they're going to start getting antsy."

Uhura sighed as Spoke tilted his head and quirked his brow.

"No pun intended..." Kirk muttered when he finally realized what he had said.

Once the doors had closed in front of them Uhura turned back to Spock, who was carefully reading over her notes. She kept her gaze on him for a long moment before crossing her arms over her chest, tapping her foot a couple times impatiently. When the Vulcan glanced back up to her, he pulled his eyes away for a moment, an apologetic gesture for ignoring her. "So," asked Uhura, "are you guys going to keep the wool pulled over my eyes, or are you going to explain to me why it is that they were chasing her?"

He read a couple more lines of her notes before he placed his hand around his chin in thought. "Your notes very clearly give one the impression that the Xindi-Insectoids were chasing the Odoculan for a price, but they don't go into specifics on who or why," he explained, in his matter-of-fact tone that no one could quite pull off so well.

"Yeah, the 'why' question seems to be getting thrown around a lot here in this scenario, and I don't like that you and Jim are purposefully keeping me in the dark about it. How on earth am I supposed to write up a report if I don't know any of the specifics of this Odoculan woman?" Uhura was familiar with a few subtle faces that Spock would give her. She knew when something angered him, or when he was deeply entrenched in thought, but right now she was looking for that grace he sometimes gave her when he sorely wished that he could tell her something.

That look didn't come. "I'm under direct orders from the captain not to divulge any information about the Odoculan. She's asked him personally not to inform the rest of the crew of the details of her situation, and I am required to follow that order."

"She ordered Jim?" She gave Spock a confused look, which quickly turned into quiet amusement.

"She asked, and he obliged. It was a considerate gesture on his part, and it would breed good relations with the Odoculan natives if any others are discovered," Spock explained as he began to walk down the corridor, remembering the task that Kirk had just assigned to him.

"So..." She took a few steps after him and placed her hand on his bicep which he seemed to immediately react to, turning around to gaze over her. "That means you can't tell me anything about what I just heard?"

Again, the glance that she was expecting was still missing. When he inhaled to reiterate his point, she took her hand off of him and waved him off. "Never mind. I understand."

With another apologetic nod of his head he glanced back up to her, said "I'm sorry, Uhura," and turned again to continue down the hall and turned a corner. It wasn't like Spock to look back, but as she continued to stand there, she wished that he had.

* * * * *

McCoy was standing in the bridge, next to the captain's chair where Kirk was explaining to an enraged Xindi-Insectoid that the charges against him and his crew would not be revoked. "Captain, if you have issues with this charge you can take it up with Starfleet at your trial date. I will return your officers to you and none of you will be detained as it is a misdemeanor charge."

"The _Enterprise_ would do well to investigate those who are truly responsible. The Xindi are not involved in this to the degree of which you have accused us of," came the mechanical voice of the translator as the Insectoid spoke.

"Well, maybe not. If there are any further developments you will be contacted by Starfleet." Kirk leaned back in his chair with a _thud_, clearly drained from the events of the day. Running around, interrogating long-legged mysterious women and overgrown cockroaches...it was enough to run anyone ragged. It explained the less-than-enthused expression that the captain gave McCoy when he stood up out of his chair.

"Jim, I know you're tired..."

Jim just lifted his hand to stop him mid-sentence. "You have no idea."

"Trust me, we've all been there. But this girl... this Odoculan. It's almost impossible, the level of recovery and lack of stress." McCoy stepped beside Jim who was initialing off on his report into Starfleet on another digital tablet and handing it to another officer. "The differences between now and when she was originally brought on board are... incomprehensible. Physical scarring has all but disappeared, vital organ function moved from nearly fatal to close to optimal within a span of just a few hours."

Furrowing his brows, Kirk motioned him away from the majority of the others who were currently working on the bridge. When they stood off on their own Jim seemed to nod his understanding. "You think this has anything to do with that..."

"The evocentium? Well, I should hope to God it does, otherwise this doesn't make any sense. No one should heal this quickly," he said in a ferocious whisper, filled with confusion.

But midway through his sentence Kirk had stopped listening to him and his stare was very intently set upon his cheek. "Uh... yeah..."

The fact that he clearly wasn't listening caused McCoy's face to take on that same less-than-enthused expression that Kirk had worn just a second ago. "Uh... yeah? Are you kidding me? This woman's biology is beyond all that which we have tested..."

"What happened to your face?" Pulling up the corners of his lips into an insecure and unsure grin, McCoy was becoming increasing infuriated by his friend's sudden lapse of amnesia.

"Jim!" he called out, before remembering that they were in a somewhat crowded bridge. "Jim... you know what happened to my face. I got decked by that mood-swinging Odoculan."

"Yeah, I know..." Immediately turning to a control panel on his right, Jim punched in a few commands to turn the light sensors on the panel off, providing a more reflective surface. "Look."

"Ugh... is it getting that bad?" he asked before leaning over to look at his reflection. And there it was, staring back at him... the same ugly mug he saw in the mirror every day, minus the scratches and the bruising – completely gone. With his eyes wide in shock, McCoy reached up to touch his cheek. He stretched out the skin, checking to see if the cut was so clean that it had just begun to seal, but no...it was gone. Truly gone. When he cupped his face to look himself over he remembered the sensation.

It gave him such a tremendous thought that he stood up, eyes still as wide as he could manage them before turning to Jim once again. "C'mon!" he said, taking his friend by the arm and pulling him into the elevator.

"What? Where are we going now?" The level of amazement Kirk was experiencing today seemed to go hand-in-hand with the levels of confusion that were continuously washing over him.

"She..." McCoy's fingertips were pressed into his cheek as his eyes seemed to search for the words to explain. "Before I left her suite... she touched my face."

"What?"

"She touched my face!" he said again. "She touched my face, and now it's _gone_. This is adding up in my mind, but we need to ask her..."

"I told Spock to ask her a few questions as well. He should be with her right now." But as the two men hurried down the corridor, Spock himself was coming towards them.

"That's her room right there!" McCoy pointed and all three men appeared to congregate simultaneously in front of the door. Quickly the doctor punched in the required code to enter her room. When the door slid open there was only the showy blue darkness that filtered in from outside.

"Damn...!" McCoy banged his hand against the door frame.

"Doctor, what is the meaning of this?" Spock asked, furrowing his sharp brows at the outburst. "Jim, I thought you had entrusted me to query the Odoculan on your behalf?" he asked, as close to sounding hurt as he ever had.

"Bones had a few questions of his own to ask. I have to admit, though - I was curious." He gestured into the darkness. "What's the big deal? She's just sleeping. Wake her up."

"We can't..." After which McCoy sighed heavy and motioned over to her. "She's in a medically-induced coma. She'll need to sleep for a few days to build up her strength. I was hoping that if we got here fast enough we might have been able to beat the medics to the punch... guess not."

"Hmm..." Jim turned and took a couple steps back the way he came. "I suppose we're just going to have to wait. Interesting though isn't it?"

Spock's confused gaze turned to meet Kirk's as he stepped away. "Captain?"

Turning on his heel Kirk was wearing that cheeky, curious smirk that he often wore when truly intrigued by something "Well, here we have a woman who is evading a bounty placed on her head, healing cuts and scrapes with simple touches. No doubt she knows that when she wakes up she'll have more questions to answer."

Turning to look at McCoy, Spock raised his eyebrows into an impressed expression. Shrugging and rolling his eyes, the doctor pushed himself off the for the door frame.

"Until then... leave poor Mina, and myself, alone... God knows after today I'm going to need a couple days worth of sleep as well." And with that Jim continued back the way he had come but walked past the elevator and further along the deck to his own quarters.

Glancing back to McCoy, Spock gave him a sideways glance. "So she somehow managed to heal the abrasion on your cheek?" he asked, steadfastly skeptical.

"I don't know..." Sighing once more he glanced into her room for a split second. "I don't know anything about her... and the more she tells me the less I know." Stuffing his hands into his pockets McCoy made his way back to the elevator in a fluster of unabated confusion.

Standing there, still in her doorway he looked into the room, his eyes quickly adjusting to the light. Laying there on her side, curled up under a blanket he could see the slow movements of her breathing, the glimmering of the intravenous unit at her side, her hair which seemed to curl around her silhouetted form. Spock gazed at her with narrow eyes looking her over as if to find some kind of answer, but after a moment his visage softened to the slightest degree and he stepped away from the door, pressing orders into the control panel to close it.

"Questions, indeed..."


End file.
